A Great Leader Touches Hearts

“A physician’s foremost responsibility is to teach the patient.”

President Nelson’s work as a physician healed disease and saved lives; his later service as a Church leader reached people spiritually on a much wider scale. Yet the roots of that influence can already be seen in professional and family life.

A ninth-grade student forgot the medical terminology but remembered how Nelson made him feel—and later became a physician. In China, Nelson learned Mandarin, listened carefully, and answered questions in detail. Even under the time pressure of heart surgery, he remained patient when others needed an explanation.

He taught that God loves effort, yet attributed miracles not to his own work but to God. He did all he could while remaining humble about the source of what seemed impossible.